Oven appliances generally include a cabinet that defines a cooking chamber for cooking food items therein, such as by baking or broiling the food items. To heat the cooking chamber for cooking, oven appliances include one or more heating elements positioned at a top portion, bottom portion, or both of the cooking chamber. Some oven appliances also include a convection heating element and fan for convection cooking cycles. The heating element or elements may be used for various cycles of the oven appliance, such as a preheat cycle, a cooking cycle, or a self-cleaning cycle.
During a typical preheat cycle, the air and surfaces of the cooking chamber are heated to a set temperature, creating a heating environment within the cooking chamber for cooking food items that is maintained during the cooking cycle, for example, by regulating the airflow in the cooking chamber, to cook the food items. Variations in the airflow within the cooking chamber due to one or more occurrences or operating conditions, such as, e.g., opening of the oven door, can alter the heating environment and thereby alter the cooking performance of the cooking chamber. In addition, the airflow provided by the convection fan may vary from oven appliance to oven appliance due to variations in the configuration of each appliance such as, e.g., the maximum speed of the convection fan motor and the mounting of the fan blades, among convection fans such that the precise airflow characteristics of a given fan are unpredictable. However, controlling the airflow within the cooking chamber can help maintain the cooking performance of the cooking chamber.
Accordingly, an oven appliance with features for controlling airflow within a cooking chamber of the oven appliance would be desirable. Further, a method with features for operating an oven appliance to control airflow within a cooking chamber of the oven appliance would be beneficial. Such features that account for variations in the operating conditions and configuration of the oven appliance would be advantageous.